Humility and leadership are words not often used in the same sentence, but the two are perfectly suited to describe centre-back Thatayaone Ditlhokwe. Defenders tend to get better with age, they say, and in his case, his maturity has seen him captaining Botswana's national teams, an indication he was destined for greatness. A move to SuperSport United three years ago was the springboard the then 21-year-old needed to launch himself into the world of football proper, bigger audience and all, and Matsatsantsa benefitted immensely from his commitment. In this heart-to-heart conversation with Soccer Laduma's Tumi Gabonamong, the gritty workhorse details how his SuperSport contract extension never came to fruition, penning a pre-contract with Kaizer Chiefs, and more…
Tumi Gabonamong: TT, great win for The Zebras this past weekend in Francistown as you guys beat Libya 1-0 in a dead-rubber Afcon qualifier.
Thatayaone Ditlhokwe: We are definitely happy with the three points. That's something we have been in desperate need of, a win. (It was) a good game where we showed lots of character. We've been struggling to keep clean sheets and collect maximum points, so this was a much-needed win to also just redeem ourselves because a lot of people wrote us off as just a bunch of losers, ha, ha, ha. Certainly, a morale boaster for us ahead of the COSAFA Cup games, the World Cup qualifiers as well as the final Afcon qualifier against Tunisia in September.
TG: How would you best describe your time at SuperSport since joining from Township Rollers in January 2020?
TD: A successful one. A healthy one. A learning one. And it was all by God's grace. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at SuperSport, more so because the set-up there is such a family-orientated one. SuperSport is more than just a team, it's a family. It's a close-knit team and everyone got along very well. I was welcomed well into the team from my day one there till the last. Everyone, from management to the staff and players, made the environment very conducive for me. To leave with the blessings of the club, especially of the CEO Stan (Matthews), is not something I take lightly.
TG: What goals had you set yourself when you joined?
TD: To work hard and learn from the best. To become better than I was at Township Rollers. It's that simple. I told myself I have to work hard and I knew once I did that, the rest would take care of itself.
TG: You worked under two head coaches there, Kaitano Tembo and Gavin Hunt. How did they impact your game and growth?
TD: A lot, and I will forever be grateful to them for helping my game in the manner they did. Coach Kaitano played a huge role in transitioning me from (the) Botswana league to the PSL. He is a no-nonsense coach who gives tough love. He was patient with me but equally persistent and relentless with me to catch up quickly and settle into a higher-paced (level of) football quickly. I grabbed his teachings and they kept me itching to always rise to the occasion, even after he left the team. Gavin stepped up my game. He's a world-class coach and I remember saying to myself, "What a coach!" after his first training session with us.
TG: Matsatsantsa indicated they wanted to extend your contract. Why didn't that happen?
TD: Difficult to say, honestly.
TG: Take us through the period when they first suggested to offer you a new one.
TD: It started when Kaitano was still around and if I remember well, I think my contract was left with one-and-a-half seasons. One morning, just before training, he asked me would I be willing to remain at the club should talks to do so start? I said yes and he told me the intention was to have my contract extended. I waited to hear from the team, but I believe because the team wasn't doing very well at the time, talks stalled. It was just a busy time for everyone, and the timing was off I suppose. I also got injured around that time. After a while, just around the time the World Cup started, the talk came up again when Stan began to engage with my manager and the conversation went on and off until the beginning of the year. I'd say it went on back and forth during the month of December.
TG: Then Amakhosi came knocking at the start of the new year…
TD: Yes. And I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting Chiefs, let alone anyone, to show interest in January. But I had to do what anyone would do in my situation and that's secure their future.
TG: How did SuperSport find out you signed a pre-contract with the Soweto giants?
TD: Obviously when a team is interested in you, they write a letter to the club (your current team) expressing their interest and Kaizer Chiefs took that same route by contacting SuperSport United (to let them know) that they want to talk to me. Even after I signed the precontract, they still communicated to inform them.
TG: Sounds like a move that caught SuperSport completely off-guard. Are you disappointed that they took that long to negotiate and perhaps tie you down to a new contract earlier?
TD: I wouldn't really say I'm disappointed, but look, if you've spent a lot of time with people who treated you well and you were happy, then obviously your emotional attachment will be triggered. My heart was with SuperSport United and would I have re-signed if they offered me a satisfactory offer on time? Probably yes. The talks took way longer than they should have, but I believe everything always works out the way it should.
TG: A lot of times players who sign pre-contracts elsewhere get sidelined for the reminder of their contracts, but it was different with you.
TD: Gavin is a father. Yes, he's a coach, but he's also a father more than anything else and after Chiefs communicated to SuperSport that I had signed a pre-contract, myself and him had a conversation to map the way forward and even though it was a coach-player conversation, it felt like a father-son talk. He asked me whether I'll continue to give a 100% if I stayed in the team, just as I had previously done, and I said to him, "Yes, I will, as long as you continue to treat me like one of your own." I told him for as long as I was treated right, I had no intention to stop giving my very best for the club, and I did just that. There was never a single day I was mistreated. He protected me. He unselfishly kept drilling me, he corrected and taught me till the very last minute and I'd say our relationship grew to another level, way more than it was before I signed the pre-contract. We became more closer, he saw I was committed and I also opened up more and asked for advices.
TG: Why Chiefs?
TD: Everyone needs growth in their careers and I'm no different. I needed a bigger challenge because that's the only way one can grow further. Chiefs is a big team and to simply answer your question, I want to grow further than I have as far as my career is concerned. The three years I spent at SuperSport were, in actual fact, the first time I was ever at a club for that long. I spent a season-and-a-half or two at all the clubs I played for in Botswana previously.
TG: You joined a SuperSport side that had somewhat outgrown their blissful days where they were known as cup specialists, and now you are joining a team that hasn't done well in a very long time and the pressure is mounting yearly. Does that mean anything to you?
TD: Honestly speaking, I don't like to entertain the word 'pressure'.
TG: But surely you aren't oblivious to the amount of pressure at Naturena, are you?
TD: No, I'm not, and don't get me wrong. I'm very much aware of that pressure, but mentally, I will not allow myself to get soaked into that pressure, but I will continue working very hard to hopefully make the fans smile again.
TG: What are you hoping to achieve there?
TD: The same goal I had when I joined SuperSport, and that was to grow with every training session and every given opportunity to play. Nothing will change, I will carry on with the same mentality and that's to work extremely hard at training, learn and be better than my last game. That's it. If the same attitude helped me at SuperSport, why should I change it?
TG: What have you made of them so far?
TD: It's a good team. It's a big team and no one can take that away. Regardless of results, they remain a big team and they deserve the honour and respect. All big teams go through a rough patch. Look at Chelsea, Liverpool… I believe, very much like Chiefs, they are on a transitioning and rebuilding period. Chiefs is transitioning, that's what I can say. Change will come… Barcelona and Real Madrid have gone through that in the past as well.
TG: Expectations are high on every player coming to Chiefs, more so now than ever before. What can you promise the legion of Amakhosi faithful?
TD: I don't like to make promises, but they can believe I'll give my outmost, a 100% commitment – that's it.
TG: You possess very strong leadership qualities, regardless of your age. What has always inspired such?
TD: I don't think it's by any ability or anything special that I've done to have been chosen to lead since my days with the U17 and U20s national team. I believe it's something I was born with and that takes me back to what I said earlier, it's all God's grace. I lost my mom at a young age and that also instilled in me a sense of responsibility from early on. It wasn't easy, but I knew life had to go on. Being the only boy in a family of three girls, I knew I had to work hard. I took it upon myself to look after them, even though two are older than me. I knew I owed it to them and our little sister to provide for them because our father wasn't entirely hands-on in our lives. I don't ever want to go back to that life where it's difficult to have food on the table. So, ja, losing my mom provoked something in me to focus and grab every opportunity presented to me and I wish she was still around to see what God is doing through my life.
TG: You formed a solid combination in the heart of defence with Thulani Hlatshwayo last season.
TD: "Tyson" is a born leader and I believe he possesses plenty of characteristics tse eleng gore le nna ke na le tsone (that I also have), the biggest being the never-say-die attitude. He's extremely committed, from training all the way to the game, from the first minute to the last and, as an up-and-coming player I learnt a lot from him. We complemented each other well and in situations whereby I made a mistake, I knew he'd cover up for me. He'd correct me on certain things at training. But look, more than anything, I'd say I learnt through Tyson that football isn't always about how talented you are but rather how much you love and respect the game. He plays from the depth of his heart. He has seen it all and it's been a privilege to learn from him, more so because he also captained his national team at the biggest tournament, Afcon.
TG: He joined SuperSport on the back of a very frustrating time at Orlando Pirates. What advice did he give you?
TD: To stay true to myself and remain focused.
TG: Onismor Bhasera previously played for Chiefs…
TD: Yeah, I had a conversation with Oni. He told me about the structure of the team and how things are run there, but most importantly what he said was it's all up to me as a person. He gave me similar advice (to the one) I once got from my countryman Mogogi Gabonamong, to always be hungrier and double my efforts, more so as a foreigner. They have both put in the work on foreign land and their commitment paid back. So, ja, Oni pretty much emphasised that I shouldn't relax when I get to Chiefs and think I've arrived.
TG: Not too many players from Botswana make it to South Africa anymore. Why is that so?
TD: I don't know and I can only speak for myself. I don't want to lie, I don't know.
TG: You'll be the second ever player from Botswana to play for the Glamour Boys after the late Terence Mophuting in the '80s. Were you aware of that?
TD: To be honest with you, no, and not because I'm ignorant, but that's because I never went into history books and checked who's played for Chiefs before. No, that's not something I've done, but certainly thankful to carry the torch, nonetheless. I'm grateful to those who came before me because for instance, when I joined SuperSport, I was aware of the impact my other countrymen had left at the club (Dipsy Selolwane and Gabonamong) because I watched them playing during their time there and over the last three seasons, I was constantly reminded of how they gave their all for the badge. They laid a good foundation about Botswana players as far as discipline and dedication (is concerned). I was always judged by their standard and I knew there was no way I could rest on my laurels, ha, ha, ha. It did put pressure on me and I want to believe, by God's grace, I rose to the occasion and managed to produce what they produced before me.
TG: You recently built a recreational centre back home. What inspired that and what's your message to a Motswana child in Botswana who thinks the dream of donning a Black and Gold jersey is far-fetched?
TD: I've always been inspired by my sister who is a special education teacher and just how effortlessly she ploughs her energy into teaching children with disabilities. That's what motivated the recreational site, and I can only pray that through that play area, upcoming youngsters will grasp the importance of mentorship. That's my advice to them, surround yourself with those who will give you fatherly guidance and patience. I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by mentors who have guided me from an early age. I have a couple of them who've been like 'fathers' to me, such as my spiritual mentor Prophet James and my football parent Khalid Niyonzima. My grandmother too, she's mentored me incredibly on how to remain rooted. They have all guided me, all at different stages of my life and career.
TG: Who do you model your game on?
TD: Sergio Ramos and Virgil van Dijk.
TG: Before we let you go, your former skipper Dean Furman once revealed you once belted out a powerful prayer within a week of you arriving at the team. Can your new teammates at Naturena expect you to lead the prayer sermons?
TD: (Bursts into laughter) Any time I'm called to do so, I will, most certainly!
TG: TT, it's been an absolute pleasure chatting to you. Wishing you nothing but the very best at Chiefs.
